Yangtze River Cruises

On your guided tour through China, include a 3 or 4 night Yangtze river cruise to your itinerary and experience the breathtaking scenery as your sail through the Three Gorges and onto the Three Gorges Dam. Walk the Great Wall at Mutianyu, explore the hidden 816 project and meet local families in Beijing’s Hutongs. Take a sampan through spectacular scenery on the Shennong Stream.

Popular River Cruises

14 Days Beijing to Shanghai

Operator: Travelmarvel

From 9,116pp
Save 679pp

15 or 14 Days Beijing to Shanghai

Operator: Trafalgar

From 9,648pp
Save 1,928pp

26 Days Beijing to Shanghai

Operator: Wendy Wu Tours

From 8,800pp
Save 1,190pp

22 Days Beijing to Shanghai

Operator: Wendy Wu Tours

From 7,918pp
Save 964pp

Discover

Must do experiences and highlights on your river cruise through China
Sampan Shennong Stream Sampan Shennong Stream
Swap your river cruise boat for a sampan to explore the pristine waters and sheer height of the narrow scenic gorges of the Shennong Stream.
See the Terracotta Warriors See the Terracotta Warriors
Journey to Xi'an to see Emperor Qin Shi Huang's incredible Terracotta Warriors, the perfect addition to a Yangtze river cruise itinerary.
The Three Gorges Dam The Three Gorges Dam
Witness the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric scheme, heralded to be a Chinese engineering feat of similar scale to the Great Wall.
Lunch in Beijing’s Hutongs Lunch in Beijing’s Hutongs
Immerse yourself in Chinese culture when you enjoy lunch with a local family in their traditional home in the narrow laneways of Beijing’s hutongs. Explore the shops and converging laneways for a quintessential Beijing experience.
The Great Wall The Great Wall
Walk along this well preserved section of the Great Wall at Mutianyu where you can enjoy the stunning views of forest with changing leaves or blossoming flowers to match the season. An iconic China experience.

Recent Reviews

What our clients are saying about their river cruises along the Yangzte
Grand Tour of China   Grand Tour of China , QLD, Australia, May 2025
This trip could have been titled the Grand Tour of Chinese icons and Gardens. From the Great Wall to Terracotta Warriors to High Speed trains and the inspiring night lights of Xi’an and Shanghai, the trip had it all. Every city we visited had inspiring gardens. Our Wendy Wu guide, Grace, was like a mother to us all make sure everything ran smoothly read more and trying to anticipate the groups every need and question. She moulded us into her our family with her attention to detail and slight timing changes to the itinerary to ensure the trip ran smoothly. Being a repeat customer of Global Journeys this trip once again reminded us that the booking practice doesn’t need to be stressful, from initial quote to final payment everything was again handled smoothly, promptly and professionally. Thanks again Global Journeys and particularly Hannah.
It was Magnificent China...   Magnificent China , NSW, Australia, Mar 2025
We recently returned back to Australia after our 22 day Magnificent China Tour with Wendy Wu. It was a fantastic trip and was one of the better overseas holidays that we have had. Wendy Wu provided a National Escort "Amanda" who was with us at all times. She was a fantastic guide with a funny sense of humour. Along with Amanda, there was a specialist read more local region guide for every major city. Highlights for us included the Great Wall at Beijing, the lovely city of Xian and the terracotta warriors, panda bears at Chengdu, cruising the Yangtze River and the modern city of Shanghai just to name a few. The accommodation was all of a good standard staying at lovely hotels. We travelled in March/April and the weather was fantastic. I would probably avoid travelling in their summer as it does get extremely hot. Another good time to travel would be in their autumn around September/October.

Due to the fact that Wendy Wu is also based in Britain, we had a great mix of British, Australian and a New Zealander totalling 20 people and it was a great bunch to travel with and we have made many new friends.

Just a few tips before travelling to China, do a little bit of homework on sim cards or e-sims and try to get ones with a built in VPN before you arrrive in China. Also cash is not used very often in China and overseas credit cards are generally not accepted. We downloaded Alipay in Australia and used this app for most transactions. You do need a reliable internet connection for Alipay to work properly.

A huge thankyou to Rachael from Global Journeys who once again looked after our booking and organised all the extras that we asked for. She is always available for a chat and answers emails promptly. China indeed was a great surprise and the people are lovely and friendly (but be prepared for big crowds). We highly recommend travelling with Wendy Wu and booking through Global Journeys.
Research itinerary and fitness required prior to booking Discover China , NSW, Australia, May 2019
Very physical tour requiring very good fitness level for long days of walking and luggage handling. Minimal assistance with baggage to and from trains. Food repetitive with Chinese banquet shared meals for lunch and dinner everyday with limited drinks available. Unable to drink tap water, minimal bottles of water provided daily. No free time. Iconic read more sites great to see although limited time as scheduled souvenir stops. Taken to restaurants for lunch with no western toilets. One of the rail legs booked in 2nd class instead of 1st no refund provided.
Stress free trip for China highlights Imperial Jewels of China , NSW, Australia, Nov 2018
Viking provide a very hassle free itinerary to experience the highlights of China. Accommodation and the cruise down the Yangtze were of a very high standard. The 6 day cruise was very enjoyable and you experience travelling through the locks of the Three Gorges Dam, something that I don't think other groups all do. Extra time, especially in Xian, read more would be good and some rail travel rather than all air connections within China would improve the itinerary. There were no hidden extras, but the inevitable shopping stops! It was our first time travelling with Viking... The group was 95% American and most were return Viking travellers. I would have liked some more free time and options to do a little independent exploring of the cities we visited.
Excellent trip   Discover China , NSW, Australia, Sep 2018
Extremely happy with the services provided by Yvonne and the Global Journeys team. The trip to China was great, the small group [12] got along with everyone, the accommodation was premium and very comfortable and clean, the food was very delicious with lots of variety and plenty of food.

The Yangtze River Cruise was great, having our meals at the read more Executive Lounge was a great idea with a choice of European or Chinese food. It was nice to have tea, coffee, juices, soft drinks and cookies all day at the Executive Lounge on level 6. The cabin was very nice and clean. All the excursions were very interesting, lots of walking though but it was worth it. Travelmarvel provided bottled water with every excursion. Fred the tour director was very nice and helpful, the local tour guides were very good too. Some of the restaurant staff at the hotels did not speak English very well but using Google translate helped.

Overall we really enjoyed this trip and we highly recommend Travelmarvel to our family and friends. Optional tours we highly recommend include the Summer Palace in Beijing and the river cruise in Shanghai. For souvenir shopping we would recommend to do it in Beijing and Xian as in Shanghai it is very limited.
Fantastic tour of Imperial China Discover China , NSW, Australia, Sep 2018
Thank you Yvonne and Travelmarvel for organising this fantastic trip for me. I thoroughly enjoyed this tour. The included activities were great and were at a good pace. We travelled a great distance and saw a lot. All the hotels were excellent and centrally located. There were only 12 people in my group and everyone got along really well. I was a solo read more traveller but never felt alone thanks to the lovely people in my group. Weather wise it was a good time to travel in September as it wasn't hot at all. The only negative for me was the farewell dinner in Shanghai. I think the tour director should take a bit more care for people with special dietary requirements. However I do like to say that the food was really good in other places.

Trip Lengths

Cities